Christchurch Terrorist Pleads Guilty to All Charges

Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, March 26th, 2020 - 25 comments
Categories: terrorism - Tags: , ,

The man who killed 51 people in Christchurch a year ago has changed his plea to guilty on all charges.

At the High Court in Christchurch, the right wing terrorist admitted 51 counts of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one charge under the Terrorism Suppression Act.

Please note that the Standard has the terrorist’s name in auto-moderation, so comments naming him will not get through. However, both the Herald and Stuff are using it in their headlines and copy, and Radio NZ has also followed suit.

Pleading guilty is a surprise move and spares the surviving victims and the families of the dead from the pain of a lengthy trial. However, I assume the killer will still have an opportunity to have his say in the sentencing process.

I really don’t know what has bought this change of plea about. It will not help in overall sentencing; he’s never leaving prison. However, it might allow the court to show some mercy and allow a degree of freedom in the conditions of his imprisonment.

However, forget him. My thoughts are with the bereaved and injured.

As-salāmu ʿalaykum, sisters and brothers.

Kia kaha.

 

25 comments on “Christchurch Terrorist Pleads Guilty to All Charges ”

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  1. A 1
    26 March 2020 at 1:09 pm

    Without a media circus the reward for dragging it out disappears

  2. McFlock 2
    26 March 2020 at 1:21 pm

    The media might name him (and show his face), but to me he'll always be "that F…wit".

    • RosieLee 2.1
      26 March 2020 at 1:40 pm

      A Fwit is just an idiot. This guy is evil/mentally deranged/narcissistic/deluded/whatever. Lock him up and throw away the key. No more selfserving publicity.

  3. Exkiwiforces 3
    26 March 2020 at 2:00 pm

    Send the bugger back to Oz and hear the righties whinge in Oz about little old NZ deporting it’s criminals to Oz. 😂

    • Craig H 3.2
      26 March 2020 at 3:25 pm

      If we did that, that would include releasing him – are you suggesting that we do that?

      • Exkiwiforces 3.2.1
        26 March 2020 at 4:06 pm

        well the dickhead is an Australian and let them handle the bugger. I give the dingbat righties including a few right wing Jewish nutters a full broadside in true Nelson fashion on Twitter when they were going full throttle at sending so-called kiwis back to NZ. That NZ should deport this dickhead straight back so they look after this dickhead and I haven't heard boo from them including a number of Fed Mp's.

        I'm happy either way jail time in NZ with deportation or a straight deportation, but this dickhead is an Australian and it should be their problem not NZ taxpayer plus being deported does also do a lot damage to his freedom if he want to travel overseas again as his name will come up on the INTERPOL Data Base.

        • McFlock 3.2.1.1
          26 March 2020 at 4:26 pm

          Dickhead's name will be on databeses anyway, and his friends.

        • Craig H 3.2.1.2
          26 March 2020 at 5:44 pm

          Not a big fan of releasing him any time soon, even into Australia. They can't try him again or imprison him, so he would be free to go and kill a few more people and spread his brand of hate.

        • Peter 3.2.1.3
          26 March 2020 at 9:08 pm

          I would happily donate a pair of togs he could use for his trip back.

    • Pingao 3.3
      27 March 2020 at 12:31 am

      I think he should serve his time here, despite the costs – in a foreign country with no friends or family. Deported when released, assuming he lives that long.

  4. joe90 4
    26 March 2020 at 2:25 pm

    All those years of work and now the prick's a bony shadow of his former self. Good.

    • Jilly Bee 4.1
      26 March 2020 at 6:52 pm

      That was my first impression too joe90. Must be that prison food eh – or he's going mad in the prison gym. Anyway, don't want to dwell on that image any longer.

      • joe90 4.1.1
        26 March 2020 at 7:13 pm

        Sentenced inmates have privileges not available to remand prisoners, including the opportunity to train. I reckon his shrinking physique influenced his plea.

  5. Maurice 5
    26 March 2020 at 3:31 pm

    The parallels to the Port Arthur case are remarkable.

    We now must rely upon the Royal Commission for examination of the matter as the evidence will now not be aired in Court.

  6. millsy 6
    26 March 2020 at 3:39 pm

    I'm only speculating, but he probably cut a deal with procecutors, to take life without parole off the table.

    Either that, of the whole trial was going to be suppressed, thus depriving him of the martyrdom he so craves.

    • Chris 6.1
      26 March 2020 at 3:55 pm

      Do we have life without parole? Is that the same as preventative detention?

      My money's on a deal where there's potential for him to eventually serve out his term in Australia. Only trouble is that many Australians would see him as a hero. Morrison probably does. Their governments have turned the general population into brain dead hate mongerers. The new typical aussie.

      • millsy 6.1.1
        26 March 2020 at 4:47 pm

        "Do we have life without parole?"

        Yes, it has been on the books since about 2002-03 I belive. Its just that it hasnt really been imposed, with judges preferring to mandate some sort of parole, after a lengthy period of imprisonment. I belive that this would warrant a sentence of life without parole, but as he has pled guiilty, he would a 30-40 years non parole period.

        "Is that the same as preventative detention?"

        Preventative detention is mainly used for sexual and non murder offences — bascially it is more about caging people than punishing them. That has parole though.

      • Andre 6.1.2
        26 March 2020 at 5:10 pm

        Life without parole is available as a sentence, but has yet to be applied in New Zealand.

        Life with a minimum period before parole means someone might be let out after the minimum period if they satisfy the parole authorities they are no longer a danger, but they will still be subject to conditions and monitoring and potential recall for the rest of their lives.

        Preventive detention is available for some crimes that don't carry presumptive life sentences. Preventive detention may be applied when the judge thinks there is a risk the offender would still be a danger after the term of their sentence, so to be eligible for release the parole authorities have to be persuaded the offender is no longer a danger to society.

        It looks like the main difference between preventive detention and life is that with preventive detention someone may eventually be free of monitoring and extra restrictions, whereas with a life sentence the monitoring and restrictions will last the rest of life.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_imprisonment_in_New_Zealand

        • Craig H 6.1.2.1
          26 March 2020 at 5:45 pm

          And that preventive detention can be applied to lesser crimes if danger to the community is sufficient.

      • RedLogix 6.1.3
        26 March 2020 at 5:50 pm

        Only trouble is that many Australians would see him as a hero. Morrison probably does. Their governments have turned the general population into brain dead hate mongerers. The new typical aussie.

        That is over the line. I don't like Morrison much, but demonising him and all Australian's as 'brain dead hate mongers' is plain old boring bigotry.

    • Craig H 6.2
      26 March 2020 at 5:46 pm

      Might also avoid solitary confinement if he says he has seen the error of his ways.

  7. adam 7
    26 March 2020 at 4:23 pm

    So what he pled guilty.

    He chose to kill innocent people in a deliberate and cruel way. He then doubled down on that, and filmed it live.

    He chose this, and deserves isolation from all human contact for the rest of his life.

    Why should he have any of the comforts of being a human being , companionship, fellowship and community. When his act was to destroy that for many hundreds of families.

    I say the only punishment fitting the deliberate and calculated viciousness of mass murder, is the one punishment that is our most harsh. Complete and utter isolation from all human contact.

    Anything less, and he wins.

    • John irving 7.1
      26 March 2020 at 5:45 pm

      But give him a day off his life sentence for saving taxpayers from lawyers fees

    • Observer Tokoroa 7.2
      27 March 2020 at 8:04 am

      Guilty

      I realise that we have quite a large number of prisons…

      But Punishment is not given to any of our criminals.

      The absence of Punishment hands out an unrepentant easy existance- and leads to endless recidivism.

      I think our ancestors got things right, when they issued a matching punishment for the Crime committed.

      What is your view ? But please don't tell me that being in prison is a hardship in Aotearoa.

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